You're My Cherokee Rose
by Tigerlily xoxo
Summary: From the POV of several characters Daryl and Carol included, the story of how he comes to care for the quiet sweet Carol. How he changes and becomes a part of the group. The things he does for Carol. Mainly Daryl/Carol but will eventually include many other pairings. AU I will be deviating from what happened on the show somewhere around Chapter 3.
1. Some Kind Of Guardian Angel

**DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN THE WALKING DEAD OR ANY OTHER COPRIGHTED WORKS MENTIONED HEREIN. THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION AND ANY ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE CHARACTERS OR REFERENCES MADE ARE BY MY DESIGN.**

**Chapter 1 Some Kind Of Guardian Angel**

When him and his brother first found the group at the quarry they stayed on the fringes. They knew that anyone knowing a Dixon wouldn't want one anywhere near them. They decided to stay away for the most part before the people got wise. If they accepted them, when they realized what the brothers were it would hurt more, be that much worse. If we were never a part of anything to begin with then it would make it easier when the group realized what utter useless trash they had let into their midst. That they had let the wolves in, and if they did not exorcise them that they would be destroyed by that evil.

I waited for it to happen but it never did. Guess when people start eating one another a pair of troublesome rednecks were the least of the problems plaguing man. So little in fact that we were largely ignored which suited us just fine. We never learned how to fit into society, be a part of it.

The cop didn't even mind us that much. He kept an eye on us sure but never more than that. In the old world he would have never waited for us to do something he could arrest them for. He knew trouble when he saw it but he gave us a pass as long as we pulled our weight and didn't make too much trouble. In the old days he would have made up a reason, any reason to arrest us, do a search, find something real, something to put us away for a long time.

Ain't like that anymore though. Funny how in just a few short weeks everything fell apart. If the fine upstanding Officer Walsh had met Merle or even me just a few weeks ago he would have sung a very different tune.

Truth was, he needed us. We could kill, survive, do the dirty work, things not many of the group hiding out at the quarry could do. He had a family to think about. He also had to think about the larger group, if we had a leader he would be it.

Sure he coulda done some things different but when the world fell apart, he had a plan. When everyone was runnin' around wonderin' what ta do, he came up with a plan. It may have not been the best plan but it was something. That's what Rick never realized, that in all the chaos when nobody knew what to do he stood up and took charge. He made sure things got done, that people had things to do, that everyone had food and shelter.

Rick never saw the first days, he never saw things fall apart. It wasn't natural that Shane became our unofficial leader, he wasn't really the leader type. He became our leader, he had our respect because he did it anyway. He made the choices that no one else knew how to make, that no one wanted to make. He didn't always choose right, he didn't do things perfect, that's for damn sure but he did them.

For the first time in my life I respected the law because of that man. He made me understand that we can do more working together instead of fighting each other. He made me understand that if mankind was to survive we needed to work together. That this world was, if possible harsher and crueler than the one before it and we needed to hold onto the best parts of ourselves, even if it was just the little silly things that we never though we could lose, that we never thought we'd be without, to survive this new world.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

I don't know when it started. I just watched her at first, the beautiful, broken creature, the little mouse struggling under the weight of an abusive husband; doing the best she could for her little girl. I noticed her almost immediately. How could I not?

For some reason, I never really understood why, I never wanted to, but I always knew when someone was suffering, I could feel it, see it, as they tried to hide it. Everyone else in camp was a blur, everyone but her. I could never block her out like the others even if I tried.

My dumbass brother was trying to cope with how things were now by doing drugs, a lot of drugs. We weren't vigilantes or anything but we had grown up under a man like that. Our father was a mean bastard who beat us and our mother. We knew what it was like living like that and we couldn't stand it. When we were boys we couldn't do anything about it but we're men now. Now we can do something about it, we can change the lives of people like us and we do.

I knew what he did to her, my little mouse. Officer Smiley seemed determined to ignore it in the name of keeping the peace within the group but I couldn't and when I told my brother, when I got him to notice he wouldn't either. We were gonna do something about it.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

My brother doesn't like bein' on the drugs when he's huntin' so that's when I told him about Carol and Sophia. It took a little convincing to even get him to put off shooting up so he could investigate the Peletier's. I knew I had him then, it made me feel better instantly. Like a weight had been lifted and I could breathe again.

That night he went and sat himself in the bushes near their tent so he could hear what was going on inside. While I was hiding out near the front, ready to ambush him when Merle lures him outside. Merle didn't have to wait for long after the camp tucked itself in. He never started before then, he wanted people to be asleep when he hurt her. I knew he would beat her tonight. Somethin' happened while the girls were doin' laundry and Shane beat the shit outta Ed for somethin' he said ta Carol.

Tonight Ed was hella mad and she's gonna get it extra good, maybe even die cuz there ain't no hospitals any more. Well that's what woulda happened if Merle wasn't there to intervene before things got too bad. If that bastard started ta hit her then Merle would scratch against the tent like an animal. Ed would come outside to investigate and we'd have 'im, kill 'im. That was the plan.

It went exactly like that. When Ed came out all pissed lookin' for that animal he got me charging at him. I took him down easily. I put my hand over his mouth and I said, "You and me are gonna go down ta the lake and m\have a chat with my brother." he nodded. He was scared shitless at havin' to deal with someone his own size. I didn't give him a choice.

I dragged him down to the water where Merle was waiting for us with rope to tie him up. I glared at him and made sure he didn't try anything while my brother tied the bastard up good and tight. Once he was trussed up I barked at him to sit on the rock while we stood in front of him one on each side.

Merle started out sayin', "We don't appreciate what ya been doin' to that little wife a yours."

Bastard had the gall ta start laughing before he responded, "That's what this is about? Ya'll got your panties in a bunch over me showin' my worthless piece o' shit wife who's boss? For your information I was teachin' her a lesson on how ta behave back there. That bitch is always up ta somethin'. Don't know why I even bothered to marry that fat cow but it ain't your business what I do ta my wife. Man's gotta keep his wife in line or they get outta hand real fast, mine ya gotta hit ta get her ta listen."

It was my turn to speak but I didn't even know if I could, I was so mad. Somehow I found the words though. "Well Mr. Peletier my brother and I don't care much for how you treat your wife, in fact you're gonna stop. Right now. Treat that angel right from here on out or you and I are gonna have some serious problems." Don't know how I managed to talk to the prick without hitting him but I did.

Ed apparently having no sense of self preservation yelled back, "What the fuck! You white trash piece a shits think you can tell me how ta treat my wife? She's mine you assholes and if I wanna hit 'er that's what I'm gonna do. She's mine ain't nutin you can do about it." at me and my brother. Now we did not appreciate that, not one bit.

Merle spoke next, after he socked him good in the jaw a course. "Well Ed, the world's workin' a little different now a days. The thing is in today's world we can just fuckin' kill ya."

I followed leanin' in close, "Ya see what you don't get is that we're gonna kill ya and there ain't nutin' anybody gonna do about it. See Officer Walsh, he knows what you are. We're gonna tell him that we saw you beatin' on your misses and intervening got into a scuffle with you which ended up with you being dead. Only person that's gonna ever know it was us that killed ya is Shane, he's gonna tell the group that the walkers got ya. Then he's gonna let us go, he'll think about it but in the end I think he'll see that we did what had ta be done. What do ya think a that Mr. Wifebeater?"

The last sentence I enunciated with my fists. So when he spoke again he was spitting up blood. "What I think is this. I think you want the whore. If that's the case you better hurry cuz right about now she'll be bleedin' out. See tonight I didn't use my fists, I used a knife, cut her up real good. After that shit today I was gonna kill her sorry ass and get me a new wife, one who appreciates me."

Merle had his gun pulled out by the time Ed had finished. "You go on little brother check on her, see she's alright." Putting the barrel to Ed's head he finished, "I'll clean up here." Nodding I ran off toward camp hoping I wasn't too late.

It seemed to take a hundred years but finally I scooted to a halt at Carol's tent. What I saw made my heart stop and my blood freeze in my veins.

The flap was open. There was blood everywhere and the inside was a real mess. Looked like a tornado had gone through it, or somethin' else, somethin' worse; but no Carol or Sophia not even pieces I checked. I'll admit, I panicked. Heart beatin' outta my chest I ran around the area frantically searching for clues.

Thinkin' walkers had gotten to 'em while Merle and I were handlin' Ed I ended up at the RV. Dale was usually up very late keepin watch. He should know what happened to them. Not seein' Dale on the roof I tore into the bus lookin' for him. Now that I had some kind of a plan I felt calmer which helped me deal with what I found in the back.

Carol was on one a the beds all bloody and pale. Her clothes were in shreds but there was so much blood it didn't matter. Dale was tryin' ta stitch her up while Andrea held her down. Amy was there as well, trying to calm down a sobbing Sophia. She was tryin' ta get her ta leave but she wouldn't leave her momma's side.

She looked like she was in shock almost catatonic actually but she was still aware enough to be able to resist Amy's attempts to remove her. Carol was in and out of it but during one of her lucid moments she managed to smile and tell Sophia that she was gonna be fine; that she should go so Dale could concentrate.

When that happened I had been there for a little while just watchin' tryin' not ta get in the way but when Carol motioned for Sophia ta leave they noticed me. Dale nodded at Amy, indicating that she was to deal with me. My presence sure got the little one's attention so I bent down on my knees to address her. "D ya mind comin with me blossom?"

Amy freaked out a little when I said that. I don't blame her, no one in the camp knew me very well. I knew she didn't want to entrust me with her young charge. So I put my hands up, palms out. "I ain't gonna hurt her. I just wanna get her outta here. Take her ta Shane. She's friends with Carl." Looking back at Sophia I asked her in a soft tone, "D ya mind me takin' ya ta sleep with Carl and his family? Let Dale and Andrea patch up your momma?"

Sophia looked back at her mom before agreeing excitedly to my plan. Amy seemed mollified that I intended no harm towards her so she released her and nodded her consent to me. Freed from Amy's grasp Sophia flew into my arms.

"I'm gonna swing by my tent after I drop her off, got somethin' might help." Picking Sophia up and carrying her outside. She started to nod off so I told her what I wanted to say briefly. "I'm gonna drop you off, then I'm gonna go to my tent, get something ta help your mom, then I'm gonna rush back quick as I can. Then I ain't gonna leave her side for anything. I'm gonna stay wit her all night and in the mornin' first thing I'm gonna go to Shane's tent and tell ya how she's doin'. Alright wit you blossom? That sound like a good plan?"

She rolled her head a bit, kinda nodding but other than that I got no response. She was out cold. Poor thing must have been exhausted after so much excitement. Then he was at Shane's tent. Time to ruin his night. He would have knocked but it wouldn't really wake them up, besides I'm not one for subtlety so I opened it and looked inside.

I barked, "Shane I gotta talk to ya" through the opening. Then I waited holding a sleeping Sophia till he appeared at the opening rubbing his eyes. The I said, "Get out here I gotta talk to you." Still very groggy he replied, "Can't it wait?" I replied with a simple, nope, then I kicked the wall of the tent to emphasize my point.

Growling he finally lifted himself out of the tent, pausing to pull on his boots before emerging fully. As he got up he yawned. He stood next to me glaring at me, then his expression softened and his eyes got wide as he took in the scene before him. "Is that Sophia? Where did that blood come from?"

"Let's get Sophia inside so she can get comfy first." Lori disturbed by all the commotion appeared at the opening. Without missing a beat I handed the girl to her and told her to put her to bed. Complying she grabbed her and dragged her prone frame into the tent.

I zipped the tent closed before I turned back to Shane. I motioned for him to be quiet but he was so freaked I'm lucky he didn't scream at me. "WHAT THE FUCK DIXON? Start talkin'. Now!"

"Calm down. Ed cut up Carol tonight. Merle and I dragged him off. He's handled. Carol's a mess though. Fucker got her good. Dale's trying to sew her up. Merle's got some drugs might help her. I'm gonna go get 'em and park my ass in the RV till dawn. Ya wanna see about Ed we took him to the water. Trackin' down my brother won't be too hard, only so many places he could be."

"Fuck that it can wait. I'm goin' back to bed."

Rolling my eyes I left our fearless leader to catch his beauty sleep. I ran back to my tent. I tore through Merle's gear looking for his stash. Finding it I bolted out of the tent, I didn't even close it in my rush to get back to Carol.

When I got to the RV Amy and I sat at the kitchen table sorting through Merle's shit. Once we found the sedatives I sent her to the back to give them to Carol. I stayed at the table sorting the rest. Making two piles, useful and not. Into the first went the pain killers and antibiotics. Everything else was recreational so I put them aside to destroy later. The keepers I put in the bag they came in. I left those out for Dale to hide.

I went to the back to check on her myself. When I arrived she was resting peacefully and Dale was pulling a blanket over her.

Then everyone bedded down. Dale and Andrea in one bed, Amy in the other. I went back to the table. Folding myself onto one of the benches I tried to make myself comfortable while I stood watch. Somehow I fell asleep.


	2. One Is Still Alive

**Big thank yous to the army of people who have read the first chapter, to everyone who reviewed, favorited or is following. The support is really heartening. You guys are awesome. As always thank you to Suzuma my real life friend and cheerleader who introduced me to fanfiction and now many years later has given me the inspiration to write my own. Thanks also to Haitus80 who has assured me this little plot bunny is not completely cracked and I appreciate that very much. This chapter gave me a lot of grief while I was writing it so I hope you enjoy it.**

**Chapter 2 One Is Alive**

**Daryl**

By the time I woke it was early but not extremely so since there was light streaming through the windows. It was still very early and the camp was not stirring very much yet. Almost no one was awake when after looking in on Carol for a moment I went out to deliver on my promise to Sophia. That in mind I made straight for Shane's tent.

As I expected no one was up yet, not even Shane. Well he at least shoulda been up, busy day and all. As I've said before he's not perfect, he's a little too attached to his beauty rest for me but hey he's the only leader we got right? For once he'll get a chance to revisit his old occupation, think he woulda been more excited.

All I wanted right now was Sophia though. Quiet as a mouse I open the tent and shook her foot to wake her. When I had her attention I put my finger to my lips, telling her to be quiet. Then I motioned for her to come with me. Stepping back I picked up one of her shoes, anything to get her going faster. After helping her put on her shoes in record time, even after I mixed up the feet, I picked her up and waltzed her to the RV.

Everyone in the RV including Carol was still sound asleep after their long night of patching her up. He wasn't worried though, Sophia knew when to be quiet. Right now she just needed to be with her momma. Now that they were done patching Carol up, she could be there with her.

Sophia was already half asleep by the time we got to the bed Carol was on. She probably was never fully awake in the first place. Still holding the little girl, I pulled the covers off of Carol and tucked her daughter into the bed next to her.

I tried not to look at the poor woman while I did it. She almost died tonight and I was staring at her chest like a perv. I felt horrible about it but I couldn't help myself. If I thought she was pretty when she was awake, it was nothing compared to when she was sleeping. Awake she was always tense and afraid, in her sleep it all melted away and I couldn't stop looking at her.

Even after she was covered up I just stared and stared at her beautiful face. She was a different woman. I vowed right then that the scared little Carol I had known for the past few weeks died with her husband. From this moment on I vowed that would protect her no matter what. Do whatever I had to, to make her happy, give her the life she deserved.

Couldn't stare at my girls all day though, I had things to do. After I had stayed there with 'em for a good long while I decided to pop off and start the day. First things first, Shane. He's our leader and I didn't want to wait another minute to deal with what happened last night.

Quickly I made my way to his tent. Waking him by unceremoniously shaking the whole tent. It scared Lori a little, thought I was a bear or somethin'. Once Shane looked out and saw it was me he told Lori, "It isn't a bear, its a Dixon. I'm gonna be busy for a while, something happened last night and I got ta deal with it probably all day."

With that we walked over toward our camp. It was on the edge of the quarry, we could talk there without being overheard. We had some things to settle before we brought this to the group. He stopped when he reached our little fire pit. He turned around to face me hands on his hips, no nonsense allowed. "So what the fuck happened last night Daryl?"

"Ed happened Officer Smiley. He made her pay for what you did to him yesterday. Cut her up somethin' awful. Few days back I decided I was gonna do somethin' about him beatin' on his missus. Last night me and Merle was watching their tent. As soon as something happened we were gonna show him what happens to wife beaters. When we heard him hurting her we pulled him outta the tent and brought him ta the water. We took care of him but not soon enough. He got a few licks in before we got 'im. He was usin' a knife though, tryin' ta kill her this time. Now she's in a bad way. She'll mend but she needs time. She's in the RV now if you wanna check her. However there are a few more things more pressing so maybe save it for later."

He looked at me for a moment before asking, "Like what? Ed's dead, she ain't should be seein' ta her."

"Ain't nutin' you can do for her right now that ain't bein' done. We gotta take care of Ed's body though. Take care of the tent, its a bloody mess. She ain't in a state to put their belongings to rights and she shouldn't have to. We need to work out what to tell people as well. We can tell them that Carol got beat half ta death by Ed but we can't tell them that me an' Merle beat him up and then shot him in the head."

"You're right the group wouldn't take that too well at all. So we get rid of the body, tell them it was a walker attack. Lets go get Merle and get to it. We got a lot a work to do."

Thinking he would still be asleep they went over to his tent. He wasn't there. I just shrugged, I had a guess as to what that asshole was up to and if I was right my day just went to shit. After last night I'd bet anything that he's drugged up. Even I feel like shooting him when he's like that, I can only imagine how Shane'll react.

A sinking feeling settles into my gut as we head into the woods taking a short-cut to the lake. I could handle every kind of manual labor you threw at me, I could even do a bit of thinkin' if I had to but when Merle really got going nothing could stop him. When he's fucked up he ruffles all kinds a feathers and causes all kinds a trouble.

When we got there we saw the body. Shane grimaced as soon as he was close enough to get a good look at him. He was such a bloody mess you could hardly recognize him. There was blood and brains everywhere but that didn't matter. I grabbed his shoulders, Shane took hold of his feet and we lifted the fat bastard.

He was fucking heavy. One thing was for sure we wouldn't be able to move him far even between the two of us.

"Hold it. Drop him. We can't move him. Either we rig up a sled or something or we find Merle." I called out to Shane over Ed's dead body.

Just then we heard a whistle. I looked over in the direction of the sound and sure enough, there was Merle sittin' on a rock by the water lookin' high as hell. Shane glared at him as he sauntered over. Seeing the look on Shane's face Merle said, "Well hello to you too, Sleeping Beauty. 'Bout time you and little brother got down here. The others will be up soon, got a body to take care of."

Amazingly after that he shut up for a few minutes while he helped us half carry, half drag Ed's lifeless body to the hole he had dug. There were two shovels, Shane and I each grabbed one and set to work filling the hole which was surprisingly deep while Merle watched us work. Merle must a been at this a while. He coulda been up all night for all I know but I didn't think so. He probably got up in the predawn and shot up.

I shoulda known better than to think that he would just let it go, wishful thinking. As soon as Ed's grave was filled in Merle strutted over to give Shane more shit. I rolled my eyes as I watched the scene unfold before me, I knew what would happen next. He opened his big mouth again, egging him on.

"What took ya so long to get out here shit face? Makes me wonder what you were doing all morning. I was here workin' before the sun even got up and I just bet you were bangin' away at that whore a yours. My baby brother sweet little thing that he is, was taking care of his women. Was that what your lazy ass was doin'? Takin' care of that lady a yours? Wasting daylight so you can hump another man's wife while I'm out here cleanin' up my mess like a real man?"

By the time he was done shouting at Shane they were face to face, just inches apart. Guess I don't give Shane enough credit because even though my brother was itching for a fight and he gave him every excuse in the world to hit him, he didn't. He wanted to I could tell, no one can get under your skin like Merle, he's an expert at pushing people's buttons.

Instead he backed down, shaking his head he walked away. What he did next was kinda stupid but I guess it got Merle outta the camp and gave him something to do. My brother needed something to put his mind to or he would tear this place apart out of rage.

Shane was still mad when he turned back, almost as an after thought before he stalked off towards camp. By then I knew he wasn't gonna blow a gasket so I wasn't worried when he turned around to face us once more. "Merle!" Shane shouted, getting his attention, when he had it he continued. "Glenn is getting some people together to do a run to Atlanta. We need supplies bad, more than Glenn can get himself. Go with him, now! Get outta my sight so I can fix your mess."

I followed after Shane as he stalked back to camp. He went straight to the Peletier's tent. Most people were up and atom by now so we got quite a few stares. When they figured out where we were headed they all found something else to do or at least pretended to. Seems most of 'em knew something had happened last night. Shit.

They didn't bother us though. Which I was grateful for. I couldn't say for sure what I was feelin' but I was still reeling from the events of last night. We worked as quickly as possible, only talking when we had to. The tent was a mess. The blood had drawn an animal of some sort, probably nocturnal. However it had likely fled when the camp began to stir. Regardless we did not have to contend with the creature itself, just its aftermath.

Whatever damage had been done to the tent and its meager contents previously the animal had sure done its far share of destruction. The first thing we did was move everything that was intact and not bloody. The bloody clothes and blankets we set aside to burn. No use keeping them, they were beyond the point where they could be cleaned or repaired thanks to Ed and the animal.

About half of Carol and Sophia's clothes were intact, the rest either got dragged out by the animal as it searched for food or was already out, no matter, they were still destroyed. We tried to save the few personal items we came across. They went into the few bags that survived along with the clothes.

After that there was next to nothing in the tent. It looked like there was a stash of food hidden in the tent but it was gone by the time we sorted through the debris. We gathered up what we could reuse from the refuse remaining in the tent. After that we collapsed the tent and dragged it into the woods. We dug a hole wide and deep enough to prevent the material from being unearthed, then we sealed the tent inside the hole.

Burying the last traces of that awful night. If only healing the damage he had done to his family was that easy.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

My brother was getting ready to go off to Atlanta giving hell to whomsoever he could, Sophia was following me around like a lost puppy and Carol...Carol could die at any moment because I waited too long to save her. I'd done what I could for her but it wasn't enough, live or die, there was nothing I could do for her for any of them and it drove me crazy.

I spent the day busying myself. I looked in on Carol a few times and even let Sophia tag along some while I helped the others do everyday things to keep our ragtag group going. By the time the afternoon came I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to be alone, surrounded by the stillness of the trees. It was the only thing that could calm the storm raging inside of me.

Barking to Shane that I was going out on a hunt, I fled the camp as fast as I could. I needed to do something, anything or I would go nuts, more importantly I needed to not think, go on auto.

If I hunted I could focus on a thousand things in the world around me rather than what was happening inside, things I couldn't handle, I didn't have to think about how there was nothing I could do for my brother or Carol. They could die, very easily, and nothing I do will be able to stop it from happening.

This helplessness was the worst feeling I had ever felt, worse than any beating I had ever taken. Shaking from my train of thought I followed the trail of a deer deep into the woods.

**Andrea**

On the road to Atlanta, with 6 people all crammed into an SUV it quickly became evident just how intoxicated Merle was. I knew something bad was going to happen, I could feel it. I also knew we didn't have a choice, we needed supplies.

Soon we would be desperate and that was something I never wanted to see even though I knew it was just another unpleasant fact of life in our new world. Desperation was a reality now, it could actually happen. There were a hundred more ways for us to die now. Yes in the old world people had died from starvation and exposure, even in America, but it seemed closer now, more real.

Before there was protection and security. I've never made my own clothes or killed for food, I always had warmth and shelter, anything I ever needed and then just like that it was gone.

Glenn told us as long as we were careful, didn't go too far in, didn't make too much noise, we would be fine. I didn't believe him, I couldn't. In this world things were fine until suddenly they weren't and then you're fucked. Then someone in your group is going to die, maybe all of you, but that's just how things were now.

No matter how many times we went over the plan, no matter how perfect it is, things could still go wrong; one mistake and all of us could die. But I still wanted to do one more run through, if nothing else than to make myself feel better.

I knew I was annoying the others by making them go over the plan again and again but I didn't care, I wanted everyone to know what they had to do. Who knew what would happen when we got there? In my mind the more we knew what was supposed to do then when things went wrong we would I don't know, know our bail plan better?

I called out to Glenn who was driving, asking him, "So we're going to some kind of department store right?"

He responded, "Andrea relax, its not far into the city and hiding from the walkers will be easy. I've left it alone before now because I always went alone, never had room to carry clothes and other things. Now we can grab whatever we find there. Then we're gonna hit a grocery store for canned food. Got a few spots where we can get stuff. We're gonna grab all we can carry and book it back to the quarry. In and out, trust me, done it a bunch a times, nothin' to it."

Sighing I sank back into my seat. Glenn had done nothing to calm my nerves and now I was officially annoying everyone with my compulsion to be prepared. Even worse, I had gotten the attention of Merle Dixon, the surly drugged out redneck who was definitely going to say something.

Sure enough as if on cue he belted out, "Wuzza matter sugar? Is you scared o' the big bad city blondie? Ol' Merle can give ya somethin' else ta think about. Take your mind off a the ravenous hordes fur sure."

"Ugh I'm not scared, I'm worried. We're going into a city full of ravenous zombies, forgive me if I want us to be as prepared as possible. In this case that means knowing the plan backwards and forwards. Too much can go wrong, things can go south in a heartbeat..." Then Glenn cut off me snapping at that disgusting piece of shit.

We were there and that meant no more talking but that didn't stop me from glaring at the bastard, this wasn't over and I made sure he knew it. His behavior towards me, intoxicated or not, will not stand and I'm gonna make sure he cuts the shit.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

Silently we crept through the city like ghosts as Glenn led us to the department store. We spent the next few hours searching the store for anything useful. By the time we got there it was already early in the afternoon, when we were ready to leave the sun was beginning to dip significantly in the sky.

When the light began to dim we decided we would return and bunk there for the night. Until then, however, they would get as much done as possible, gather as much as they could.

As the piles of boxes and bags grew and the light waned we had to decide what to do with our loot. In the end we decided to bring all our supplies to the department store with us for the night and in the morning we would take it to the moving truck we found.

After we ate some dinner we set up watches. Not sure why, no one slept. After everyone had abandoned any attempts we all watched and waited at our own spot. There was no reason to stick together, we couldn't risk talking, not that I wanted to; besides the more spots we had guarded the safer we'd be.

I almost fainted with relief when dawn finally came and the night passed uneventful. We ate quickly and then got to work transporting the supplies we had gotten yesterday to the truck. Glenn stayed in the shadows near the truck with a radio. If a large group came near he would be able to warn us.

We were almost done loading the things we already had, the things we desperately needed, when our radio buzzed to life. "All the walkers are moving, something is going on, drawing them to it. I think its to the south, Merle what can you see?"

Merle responded in his rough drawl, "Think you're right boy. 'Member that over run defense post with that abandoned tank a few blocks out? I can't see what's goin' on worth a damn with all those geeks runnin' around but that's where the action is. Check it out. Can't see anything from here, maybe a closer look will tell us what were dealing with. Its gotta be you Chinaman, you're the expert on evading these things, outta all of us I figure you're the one who'll be able to get close enough to figure what's going on. We need to know if this effects us. Those things decide to come our way they could tear us apart."

When the walkers went crazy I was on the roof with Merle making sure he didn't do anything stupid. While the others went back and forth, he and I stayed and held down the fort.

"Stay here and cover us from the roof; I'll go downstairs keep the door open. Glenn may have to get out of there pretty quick, if that happens we need to be ready to move." Shoulda known better than order a Dixon around, even suggesting a plan of action.

Sure enough, "Well sugar, I sure like you bossin' me around. Ain't got time right now but we get back ta camp maybe you boss me around some more?" He paused then waiting for me to respond.

All I did was stare at him blankly, I should know better than to allow myself to be shocked by anything that man said.

After spending a few minutes just looking at each other, well I was gasping like a fish, he figured out that I wasn't going to answer him. If anything my shock made it worse because he had to shake me out of my stupor. Naturally he chose to do that by patting me on the butt.

The only reaction to that I could muster was to look very confused; I wanted to kick myself. Luckily it didn't get any worse, it seemed he was done for the moment, we were back to surviving. Eager to get away from him I fled downstairs as quickly as I could and still be mostly quiet.

That's when I heard shots going off, several at once. Then it was quiet.

Waiting for something to happen was the worst thing I had ever felt. In time the others had come back but Glenn still had not returned to his post, no one knew where he was. Then he was bursting through the back entrance with another man.

We all pulled our guns out and aimed at the stranger. Glenn put his hands up, "Now just calm down everyone. This here is Rick, he's a sheriff. He got himself into quite a pickle back there. He's fine though, we both are, not a scratch or bite on either of us. We need to get outta here now. He got the attention of every walker in town. They followed us, a whole horde of 'em are heading this way."

T-dog had already dropped his gun but I still had mine raised. I didn't trust this guy, he brought the whole city down on us.

This time it was T who told me to put my gun away, "Andrea! We don't have time for this, we need to leave now before we're completely surrounded.-"

He was cut off by the sounds of zombies hitting the windows looking for a way in. With the numbers of infected outside it wasn't a matter of if they got in, it was a matter of when they got in. More than likely we were completely surrounded.

Taking charge I said, "Alright they know we're in here, one way or another, sooner rather than later they will break through. We head to the roof, put a few doors between us and them and go from there."

That's when we heard the roar of a rifle raining down on the ravenous hordes a few feet away.

After that everything was a blur, the window they were trying to get in through started to crack as we ran upstairs to stop Merle from drawing more attention to us.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

As we burst onto the roof we all began yelling at Merle to get him to stop. It was already bad but he was making it worse. We already had a mess a those things at our doorstep, if he kept on the way he's been then he could well bring the whole city down on us.

We practically had to pull the rifle away from his grasp to get him to stop shooting. Then he laid into us about telling him what to do. He was high as a kite and none too appreciative about a cop, a nigger, and a chink ordering him around, us women didn't count apparently. I didn't mind though because for the moment it was as if I wasn't there.

Then it got worse, Merle was very mad because everyone was telling him what to do. He started howling about how a cop a nigger and a chink had no right to tell him what to do. Then T-Dog tried to calm him down, get him to focus so we could get out of here. That made him lunge for the man.

The cop, Rick, I think got between the two and punched Merle in the face. Merle fell down, using Merle's temporary disorientation to his advantage Rick cuffed him to a pipe low on the ground.

Walkers started to spill onto the roof just then. There were only a few so we were able to kill them quietly but there were more where they came from. We didn't have time to sort Merle out so we left him as he was and fled the roof.

When we were at the next building T-Dog looked back, swearing he asked the cop for the keys so he could set Merle free. He took off like a rocket back toward the building we had come from. We were safe for the moment so we waited for him to come back.

Five minutes later he returned but without Merle or the keys. Apparently T had dropped the keys down a storm drain before he could reach Merle. He tied the door shut with a length of chain though so the geeks couldn't get at Merle.

We had to leave now but we decided we would come back for him once things had quieted down. Right now we couldn't risk the time it would take to free Merle from the cuffs and in his current mood he was more a harm than a help.

We went from rooftop to rooftop trying to evade the horde of undead but it was no use, there were too many of them. In addition we kept having to go deeper into the city as we tried to loose them but we couldn't we kept making too much noise. They followed us or we just ran into more.

Eventually we gave up on trying to out run them and went into a building that looked secure. The new plan was to wait them out and try to get past them on the ground or find a way to outsmart them.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

We were in the building, a storage unit for a while when Rick started brainstorming. It seems that he was in a coma and had just woken up to this nightmare. I don't know how he survived but he knew next to nothing about the undead.

He made the brilliant observation that they don't attack each other. I could see a plan forming and I didn't like it but if it got us out of here we didn't have much choice. Rick figured that if we could make ourselves smell like them, they would leave us alone. It was crazy but it just might work.

Everyone was for the plan so Glen and Rick went out and killed one and brought it back. We put raincoats on and covered ourselves in cut up walker goo. We were too far away from the truck to get to it before dark but we could make it to the SUV we rode in on.

We got a few blocks and everything was fine but then it began to rain ad our walker goo washed off and they started noticing us.

Now we were fucked, we were closer to the edge of the city but when it started raining we had been walking in a crowd of geeks. They all knew we were there now and we had to run. We managed to hide in a parking garage. They walked past without noticing us.

We needed a new plan though, the goo thing won't work now because it was raining.

The boys spotted a red Ferrari. They figured they could hotwire it and use it to draw them away from us. Glenn was chosen to provide our distraction since he knew the ways to the quarry best.

When the guys broke into the car the alarm started blaring but that was a good thing, more noise to attract their attention. Once the monster was started Glenn hopped in and drove away leading the hordes at our doorstep away from us.

We ran to our car and drove to the quarry.

Our arrival caused a stir. People were expecting us to bring back supplies. Glenn drove up in the Ferrari which was promptly silenced by Shane.

Rick's wife and son ran to him when he stepped out of the vehicle. A happy reunion was more than anyone had dared hope for. He was also Shane's partner but he was less than happy to see him alive. They were all shocked, they thought he was dead and here he was right in front of them, alive and well. Maybe Shane was waiting for the other shoe to drop. These days nothing good happened without an equal or worse measure of bad.

**This is an AU so after this the plot will begin to change drastically. This is your first and final warning. This story is at my mercy and will turn out nothing like the series did.**

**Next up a very angry Dixon will beat the shit out of Rick. We'll also check up on Carol, getting warm fuzzies all over both from her and Daryl and the Grimes family reunion. They will go back for Merle and the supplies. There will be some Sophia as well. Its going to be a very good, long chapter so I don't know how much time it'll take for me to finish it.**


	3. Back To Base

**Thanks to everyone. A whole horde of people read the last chapter and I have a whole ton of new followers and favs. Not many reviews but that's ok it _was_ kind of a shitty chapter, this one is much better trust me. **

**HGRHfan35 asked if I was gonna hook Andrea up with Merle. While I can't promise it'll happen in this story because of your request I'm working on a little A/M something to make you happy. I think it'll wind up only being a one-shot but its something. I do like the pairing and your request really inspired me.**

**Some of you may be confused as to how it is still three chapters after I've updated or how it went from three chapters to two. Well I tacked the former chapter 3 to the end of chapter 2. chapter 3 kinda sucked so I mulled over it for a few days and then I figured I might as well combine them. Sorry for any confusion this causes.**

**Ok so lots of exciting things happening in this chapter. It's gonna shake down a little differently than in the show.**

**Now that I'm in it I enjoy exploring Andrea more and her friendship with Carol so I think she'll be a big player in the future. Mostly because I'm having just too much damned fun in her pointy little shoes. Also going to have some Daryl/Sophia fuzzies that I'm looking forward to. It may only be a small part but any affection is a big step when it comes to Daryl. Another part I'm looking forward to is our beloved Dixon kicking Rick's scrawny butt! It happens and it is a _glorious_ moment.**

**Chapter 3 Back To Base**

**Andrea**

Rick settled in with his family and got a tour of the camp. It wasn't much but he got his family back safe and sound and these days that was worth more than a heap of gold. Seeing him return from the dead and get reunited with his family gave us hope. It inspired us to believe that good things could happen in this dark new world. We needed things like this to remind us of better things, to keep our hope alive.

I checked in on Carol and found Sophia with her. I had found a few things for them and once we got the truck back they would get the much needed items. Things to occupy Sophia, I remembered Carol telling me they both liked to draw but Ed never let them have drawing paper or supplies, he never let them do anything creative. Now that he was dead I was going to make sure that changed.

I also got heavy duty drugs for Carol and some nice clothes for both of them. I didn't know much about Ed but I knew he never let them do anything and what he did allow them to do he constantly criticized until there was no more joy in it. All in all to a regular person it wasn't much but to them it may as well be the world. Not like I had a lady crush or anything but Carol is a good woman, someone needs to help her out, god knows the others won't.

Carol needed that medicine and the group would not survive much longer on our dwindling supplies, we needed that truck. As dangerous as it was we needed to go back. Everything was a gamble now, this was the way we had to live our lives like we're playing fast and loose.

We also had to go back for Merle, he may be a degenerate junky but he was our degenerate junkie. He was an asset, a very valuable one that we couldn't afford to loose. Not to mention Daryl is going to go ape shit when he finds out we just left him there and he would force us to go back or leave the group and do it himself.

Speaking of Daryl he was still hunting...Oh shit. He isn't gonna be happy about this. I've never seen him mad but if his usual attitude is calm I don't want to. An angry Dixon is the last thing we need right now. Whats done is done, it wasn't right but it was the best choice we had under the circumstances.

If anything he knows how Merle can get. We didn't really want to leave him there, at least I didn't, but shit happens. If it was up to me I woulda left him there for a bit to cool off and then let him loose. Of course while I'm in charge of the universe this craziness would have never happened so that just goes to show how much my input matters.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

Sighing I quickly finished my meal, it wasn't much considering how little we managed to bring back on the last run. When I was done I took a moment to look around. Shane was skulking around now that Rick was back he had plenty to be moody about.

With Carol recovering and Lori spending time with her family all the 'womanly duties' pretty much fell to my little sister. Normally me or Jacqui would be doing things but we'd just gone on a run and we were too exhausted to help with the few remaining chores. Most of the stuff we would have helped with if we'd been at camp was already done for the day.

Of the men Daryl was the most useful. He was always hunting ad scavenging. Most of the men other than Shane and Dale didn't do much. Glenn was our scavenger but most of us were pretty useless. We had no idea how to live in this world, the skills we had, the lives we'd led before were useless now and we knew next to nothing about how to survive. That all had to change, fast, or we were all going to die.

The camp was busy around me and I had to get away. I went to the RV, I could always find some amount of quiet in there. I wanted to check on Carol anyway. I had a duty to her as her friend to look after her. Besides she did more for the group than they realized. None of us were hardened survivors, 'cept for the Dixons so they really couldn't hold it against her but they judged her more than they aught and did nothing when she needed them.

Now she was in a coma. Her bastard husband had cut her up and the only ones to help her were the fucking Dixons guess I was wrong about them. It drove me crazy that every single one of them knew what was happening and just let it happen. I had offered to shelter her and Sophia numerous times but she always declined, said it would do nothing but make him madder and she would be the one to pay for it.

The one time any of them did anything it wasn't enough, if anything it made it worse. Promises and half measures got you nowhere in this world, in fact they would probably get you killed. Daryl understood that and that's why I'm gonna take care of his girls while he's gone and when he gets back get to him first, I owed him that.

And if no one wants to go back for Merle I'd go with him and save that son of a bitch. I don't care about the consequences anymore I was gonna do what needed to be done, what was right, the rest of them be damned.

Taking one last look at Carol's battered body I left the RV and set out to find a redneck.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

I found him a short way from camp. He was in a clearing sitting on a rock fiddling with something he had in his hands. He had some squirrels with him so I knew he had gone hunting at some point but it looked like he'd been there awhile mulling things over.

I knew he noticed me but he didn't acknowledge my presence. So I sat down next to him and calmly said, "This seat taken?" He looked at me. He had stopped himself from flinching when he noticed how close I was and said, " 'S alright. Still a free world far as I know."

Now for the hard part. I was really not looking forward to this but he's gotta find out sometime and it might as well be now. Swallowing I braced myself and opened my mouth, "Daryl, something happened in Atlanta, a lot of things actually. We found this guy. He stirred up the walkers and started shooting. We managed to get him out but when shit went down Merle freaked. He started shooting, drawing their attention to our location. We got overrun and it was his fault. The new guy, Glenn, and T-Dog called him out on it. The new guy's a cop so Merle didn't take too kindly to being told off by him. He ain't a peach when he's sober but you get him fucked up and then have a cop, a Korean, and a black guy trying to tell him what to do and he goes after them one by one starting with the closest one. Now we were trapped on a roof and the geeks had busted in the building and were hot on our tail, we didn't have time for Merle to be an ass. So the cop hits him and cuffs him to the roof to cool the fucker off. Before anybody could do anything else the walkers start pouring onto the roof. Just a few so we got 'em and then secured the door but then we had to scat. Merle was still plenty pissed and no one wanted to deal with his shit right then and in all the chaos of trying to get away from those things, we...well we kinda just left him there. Now we ain't got that far yet but I figure we're gonna go back. We had to leave most of the supplies we'd grabbed and while we're at it we can go in quick and free Merle."

Daryl had been quiet the whole time I'd been babbling which scared me more than anything he could ever say. I could tell he was mad so I let him digest for a moment, he was quiet by nature so I knew not to force him. When he was ready he'd talk, til then I was happy to just sit back and enjoy the woods. It was quiet and peaceful now, might not be when Daryl finally found his voice.

As the moments passed I got more and more nervous. Finally when the tension was so thick I couldn't take it any more he spoke.

"How you know they'll want ta go back for him? Sure they want the supplies, they need 'em bad but Merle could already be dead. Maybe they ain't as noble as you think they are. Maybe they see this as a chance to get rid of him. None of those fucks gives a shit about him, he's done nothin' but make an awful nuisance of himself since we got here. Say they have no intention of going after him what are you gonna do Miss Fancy Pants? You gonna go with me, even if its just us?"

I puffed up at the challenge. "As a matter of fact yes. That's exactly what I intend to do. You and him saved Carol. Did somethin' no one else was prepared ta do. Personally I think there's something to be owed for that so even if none of the others want to help you, **I** will. Even if it means facing being kicked out of the group I'm going to do what needs to be done."

He smirked and his blue eyes sparkled as he responded. "Well hot damn! Guess I was wrong 'bout ya lil lady. Got some stones ma'am. Its a plan lil lady, you got yourself a deal." He reached out to shake my hand. After a quick pump that was so loose I barely felt it he let go of my hand and tore off towards camp.

I followed him almost running to keep up with his long lithe strides as he went straight for the RV.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

I broke off when he got there. What happen next was between him and Carol. Besides I was pretty sure he wouldn't want me to witness the display of emotion that would unfold when he saw her like that. Pale, comatose, barely breathing. It wasn't pretty and if she didn't get some good shit in her soon it would get a whole lot worse.

There was one thing I could do. I took off looking for the kids. Now that he was back he would want to see Sophia and vice versa. I found her with Carl, they were shadowing Carl's dad as he explored the area around the camp with Shane checking the perimeter.

The kids perked up when they saw me approach and Rick smiled as well. Carl and Sophia ran towards me eager for news. "Daryl's back and he wants ta see ya. Sorry Carl just Sophia this time. Last I saw him, he was going to see your mom. He's prolly still there. Why don't you run along and give him a big hug and a kiss."

Grinning wildly she ran off to find Daryl. My smile mirrored hers and my eyes followed her til she was outta sight. I laughed a little at her enthusiasm but I stopped after I couldn't see her anymore. I turned to Carl and told him to go find his mother and stick to her like glue. Me and the boys had some things to discuss.

Carl left, albeit reluctantly after a nod from his father and Shane. Once we were alone I turned to the pair and struck my I-mean-business pose. Shane spoke first. "It true what you told her? Is Daryl really back in camp?" Raising my eyebrow at him I simply said yes. Wasn't much of an answer but that's what you get when you ask me dumbshit questions like that.

"Lets cut to the chase. Daryl wants to go back and get his brother. I think that's what we should do. We need to go right now and get those supplies and free Merle. If we don't shits gonna hit the fan. We don't fix this and do it right now Daryl is gonna pull your damn head off and stick it up your ass. You're the one who chained him up Rick and if you let this be he will come for you."

Rick and Shane were dumb struck. After a moment Shane composed himself, the next time he looked at me his expression was dead serious. He knew what kind of men the Dixons were ad he knew what Daryl would do to get Merle back.

Wisely Shane said, "She's right. The Dixons are rough men but they take care o' their own. We need to at least try to get Merle back. Sure he causes some problems and he ain't the easiest man ta get along wit but he's one of us, him and his brother help us survive. If nothin' else we need ta do this cuz we owe them boys."

Rick apparently did not think this was such a good idea. "It may not be right leaving a man to die like that but you didn't see what I saw. He was totally out of control. If I hadn't neutralized him we woulda never gotten away from the dead, he woulda caused enough ruckus for them to keep following and kill us all. That man ain't stable. I don't see the benefit of saving someone like that. 'Specially when we gotta go crawlin' through a walker infested city. We barely made it out alive last time and we had to dump most of our supplies ta do it, that ain't an option if we go back. We ain't doin' it. 'S not worth the risk and that's final."

By the time Rick finished I was so mad that before I knew it I was lunging for him. Shane grabbed me pulling me back. This pompous asshole had no right to do what he did and then march around like he owned the place telling us what to do. I wasn't gonna listen to this fucker. In fact I was gonna do my best ta take it outta his ass before Daryl even gets a chance.

When Rick saw me going for him, he reached for his gun but instead a priming it he balled up his fist. Guess he decided if I was gonna go at him punching and clawing he was gonna make it a fair fight by only using his fists. Nice to know Rick wasn't one to play dirty. Not that Shane was about ta let it happen.

I was struggling in Shane's arm, I was getting close to freeing myself and flinging myself at that A-hole claws bared when Shane shouted, "STOP! We are a democracy here! No one man decides what we do and Rick you most certainly have not earned that right among us. We will have a meeting, this matter will be discussed and voted on by every able-bodied adult in this camp!"

He was right but that didn't calm me down much. I still wanted to help Daryl pull this asshole's head off but I'll play along for now. Goin' on our own was gonna be tough and dangerous, if we could swing it help would sure be appreciated.

**Daryl**

Seen' that angel lying there like that nearly killed me but I couldn't move. I wanted nothing more in this moment than to run from the sick sight of what I'd let happen. When Sophia came in looking for me I'd never been happier to see anyone in my life because that sweet little girl ran up to me and wrapped her arms around me holding me tight like I was someone who mattered.

Like magic her touch broke the spell I was under and I could move again. I picked her up and carried her to the other end of the RV and sat us down at the table. We were as far as we could get from Carol and still be inside this rust bucket. I couldn't stand to be very far from her right now but that don't mean I could be lookin at her.

I felt terrible not being able to stay or go but I got an angel holdin' me tight. She looked up to me and I had to see to her, it was my duty to take care of her, of both of them. I did what I could for Carol, all I could do for her now is watch over her and hope she recovers. Get her the medicine she needs and watching over her until she can do it herself. No more harm was going to befall that angel and God willin' she'll come out the other side just fine.

I ain't never been much for huggin' but I couldn't let Sophia go. Even when she tried to give me a kiss holdin' this little girl was the best I felt in a long time. All my life I ain't had one bit a kindness that wasn't followed by a swift punch to the gut. It felt good to be able to let go of all that pain, a pain she knew as well.

All too soon we were interrupted by an angry Andrea lookin' fur Dale. I didn't know what that were about but it was high time I went to see the man who may have killed my brother. Sighing I squeezed my blossom tight one last time before I set her down.

Taking her hand I brought her to Lori so she could play wit Carl. Then I set out to teach Mr. Grimes southern hospitality Dixon-style. Which basically entails a lot of punching and pounding on him 'til he understands who he's about to cross and what it would mean if he did.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

Rick wasn't anywhere in the main camp but I wasn't really expecting him to be. Nothing was that easy for me besides I didn't want an audience for what I was about ta do ta him. After I was satisfied that he was out in the woods somere I set out ta track his ass down. Didn't get far though.

As I was rounding the RV Andrea came belting towards me looking ta have a word. Damn. Everyone wants me today and all I want ta do is be alone and kill shit. Then that damn bitch tol' me bout my brudder, then I felt worse.

Only thing I could do was beat the man who did that to my brudder senseless. It wouldn't make me feel better but I have no choice. Its about honor, man's gotta have a code. If I weren't so blue throwin' that man a beatin' would make me right as rain but it ain't that simple, not when it comes ta Carol.

Carol has a way of doin' thins ta me, makin' me care, drivin' me outta my mind. I ain't never cared about anything like I care about that woman. Sometimes it scares me how much I care for her after knowin' her fur such a short time but it's not somethin' I got any control o'er. Ain't even sure I'd want ta control it if I could.

I won't be close ta right til my girl's on the mend and my brother's outta danger. First step is goin' back to Atlanta and bringing back what we left behind. Right now I gotta deal wit Andrea, she seems ta be on my side and that's the only reason I didn't just turn around and hoof it in the other direction when I saw her coming for me.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

Andrea was chewin' on somtin and I was none too eager ta find out what. Figured whatever it is must have somethin' ta do wit me and I really don't wanna deal with it right now. Don't see much of a choice though, she don't seek me out much so when she does she's really got something ta say, and that shit don't just go away, got no choice but to just sit and deal with it.

When she reached me I thought she would just belt out whatever was troublin' her but instead she grabbed my hand and started dragging me into the woods. Apparently this was a conversation to be had in private. She stopped when she was sure we were alone and no one could hear.

"Alright what is it? Don't mess around, just tell me."

"Rick ain't exactly on board when it comes to trying to get Merle back. He thinks we should just go for the supplies, in and out. He thinks the benefit is not worth the risk. Shane wants to save him so that's something. Not sure really why he's taking that position or how firm it'll hold but if he thinks we aught ta try then some of the others probably will as well. We're gonna have a meeting to discuss it. Rick, nerve of the man tried to outright forbid us goin' after Merle."

"I think I'm a hafta do somtin bout that man's attitude. Suppose you want me ta come to that meetin'?"

"I think the opinion of the man's brother would be valuable. Your opinion counts more than you think it does. Far as Rick is concerned, do what you gotta do, if that involves hittin' him more power to ya. Maybe you'll knock some sense inta him, or scare it inta him."

Chuckling at that last bit I said, "Well I'm a get goin' less you got some kinda objection. See ya at the meetin I guess." she called out "Bye" after me. By the time those few seconds had past I was so far away I barely heard it. I had things to do and I wasn't overly fond of goodbyes. Definitely didn't say goodbye to women, didn't get any from them either.

I stalked off into the woods to look for that damn man. I was sure he was in the woods somewhere when I started lookin' but who knows where he's got to now. I didn't know how much time had passed but it didn't really matter; there were only so many places he could be, it was just a matter of time before I found him.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

He was with Shane and his family, they were talking quietly with Lori while Carl and Sophia were playing a short distance away. That was unfortunate, I didn't want to do this with an audience, especially not this one but beggars could not be choosers. I need to settle this, now. This guy needs to be taught a lesson and I ain't gonna walk away when he was right in front o me. I ain't made that way.

I ran up to him, as I hit his jaw as hard as I could without breaking my hand I shouted, "Gonna leave my brother to die you fuckin' piece of shit!" Then I kicked and punched every piece of him I could reach. I knocked him out cold with my first punch so he didn't put up much of a fight.

I didn't want to kill him, I wanted to teach him a lesson. He couldn't learn nutin' if he was dead. So when I felt that he'd had enough to take my message to heart I pulled back and let Shane pick him up and carry him to the RV.

Lori was tryin' to shield Carl and Sophia, not that it'd scare 'em but it weren't right fur lil ones to see stuff like that. I was glad they didn't see. Now that it was over Lori pulled me to their tent to bandage up my hands. I hadn't really noticed but they were tore up some. I've had worse but seein' my knuckles all bloody like that musta scared the little missus.

I thought it strange that she would tend to me after I had beaten her husband senseless but maybe it was just her way of sayin she thought we should at least try to git my brother. She found her husband again after thinkin he were dead so maybe that's why she's doin' what she's doin'.

I only let her because I was gonna go after my idiot brother as soon as I could. It stung like hell but for the moment I put away my pride. This fixin' would make all the difference in the long run and as much as I hated to admit it putting up a fuss wasn't going to help me any.

I need their help to get Merle back, well maybe not **need** but having them along would sure help. I'd be crazy to think I could just prance into a walker infected city unscathed but if it came down to it I had to try, for my brother. That being said if I had to go it alone its pretty much a suicide mission so I was gonna do everything in my power to make sure that didn't happen and if letting Lori nurse me puts me on their side, then I was gonna do it.

Next thing I know Glenn's comin' towards us to gather us for the meetin'. Lori wasn't quite done wrappin' up meh hands yet so she told him that we'd come along in a few. Shane sure didn't waste any time organizin' but bein' a cop he understood how important a factor time was when someone's life was on the line.

What I did get though was why he was callin' a meetin' so soon. He'd barely woulda had time ta drag Rick's ass ta the RV. Then again maybe he'd already set the meetin' time up and didn't have time ta change it cuz when me an Lori showed up near everyone was already there, but he wasn't.

Lori said that Rick had gotten hurt so Shane was seein' to him. We needed to decide whether we were gonna carry on without him or wait for him ta show up. What we're here to talk about is going back to Atlanta. We **need** to go get the supplies we left behind but there's also someone was left behind in haste to escape the city. My husband also had a bag full of guns and ammo not too far from the building Merle is trapped in.

Now we can start discussing this but not every member of our group is here and I'm sure Shane and Dale will want to be a part of this and have their say. However both of them are a bit tied up at the moment so I think we should hear about what happened in Atlanta from Andrea and T-Dog and then think about what we should do. We need to discuss this and vote on it but I don't think we can leave out Shane and Dale.

I found it odd that Andrea was actually here given Rick's condition but maybe that just meant that it wasn't too bad and Dale and Shane could handle it on their own. I weren't worried Rick was far from bein' dead, not that I cared about the prick.

After our First Lady was done expressin' herself everyone started talking amongst themselves mullin' over what she suggested. Seemed pretty reasonable ta me. I sure as hell didn't wanna do the whole shebang unless everyone was in on it. I kept ta myself while the others were going over the pros and cons.

Fuck it all. This political yammering was makin me sick. I get that they want ta talk this over but I ain't exactly the most patient of men. I see that somethin needs ta get done and I do it. I hung around anyway though. It seemed that everyone wanted to hear what actually happened in Atlanta so I figured at least that would happen, and that was somethin I really wanted to hear.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

It took fucking forever but finally Andrea and T stood up to address the group. The run started out fine, then Rick showed up. Apparently he'd just woken up from a coma so he had no idea that he would bring the whole city down on 'em and likely kill everyone.

Glenn managed to get him outta the tank the dumbass had managed to trap himself in and they slipped the walkers narrowly making it back to the others in one piece. Then Merle started shooting, drawing their attention to the building they were holed up in.

After that shit happened and then they had to book with no time to fix the fucked up situation. The situation being my dumbfuck, junkie brother. They also had to leave behind all the supplies they'd managed to gather. Getting to the truck shouldn't be a problem, it was a cake walk.

Goin back to the city ta get Merle? Not so much. But in **my** book it had ta be done, no two ways about it.

After that everyone was silent, pensive. It seems like the First Lady called it perfectly. Everyone wanted time ta think bout this and talk amongst themselves. They also wanted to wait til everyone could participate in the debate. Well everyone but Carol and Rick. Carol was in too bad a way to bother her wit somtin like this and no one gives a fuck what Rick wants ta do.

So everyone scattered and got busy. I went to go get my girls flowers. I wasn't much for sentiment but they say that flowers help sick people get better. Carol was gonna wake up soon and she aught ta be able ta look at somethin nice while she got better.

**I wanted to get our gang to Atlanta but it was running too long and I haven't posted anything in forever so unfortunately that's gonna have to wait til next chapter. I had a plan for this chapter, I wanted to get it to a certain point and do a cliffhanger. Big surprises ahead. Cliffhanger will be next chapter, probably at the end but who knows? Won't know how it'll shake out til I get there.**

**I'm sorry this took so long to get out to you all. I hope you're still tuning in. I had family issues and that made me depressed and I didn't feel much like writing. I'm only now trying to get back into the swing of things because it has been far too long.**


	4. Return To Atlanta

**I know. Another chapter so soon. I'm spoiling you all but I was very excited about this chapter so once I started on it the words just flowed. Thanks all for reading my lovely fic. I do have a plan for this, y'all are just along for the ride; hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. Exciting shit happens in this chapter but you'll have to read it to find out what I mean by that. *evil witch cackle inserted here***

**Chapter 4 Return To Atlanta**

**Andrea**

A decision must be made.

We gathered that evening, wanting to make a decision as quickly as possible so we could implement it the next day. Wasting any more time was dangerous. Everyone was present, except for our injured. Most of us had already made up our minds but there would still be a discussion and everyone had the right to speak.

We gathered at the fire pit. Some sat down on the logs, others stood up behind them. Shane as our 'leader' stood up to address us first. There was no fire tonight so he stood in the circle of stones placed to contain a blaze. That way he was in the middle of everyone and we could all see and hear him.

"This is a new world. More dangerous than anything any of us have ever faced. We are struggling to learn and adapt, struggling to relearn how to survive. Everything we do now, every choice we make means the difference between life and death. Every action we take is a calculated risk. The simple fact is baring everyone on the run dying, the potential benefits outweigh the risks. We need that truck, we need those guns, and we need every able-bodied fighter we can get if we're going to survive." His piece done Shane stepped back into the crowd.

Dale stood up next. "This is a dangerous world we find ourselves in. Atlanta is the most dangerous place we have encountered thus far. We need the truck, but we can get it without going too far into the city. Its out of the way and easily assessable. We can even get to it if its surrounded. I can't say the same for the guns or Merle. If it were more feasible there would be no question about getting them. But there is a question. The guns are in the middle of the street and the whole square could be crawling with walkers like it was when our run team got pushed out of the city. The same goes for the building Merle is trapped on. For all we know they could have broken through and he's already dead. The city is full of those monsters, our people were lucky to have gotten out alive. There is too much uncertainty, too much danger, too great a chance to lose so much more, to lose everything. This is too much risk for this group to take, they could all die and then where will we be?" He stepped out of the circle after that, stumbling on the stones. Before he fell, Shane reached out and caught him. Pulling him upright he clapped him on the shoulder and stepped away.

While Dale was warning people how dangerous this crusade could prove to be, Shane's face fell. He respects and loves Dale, we all do. I could see that what Dale said hurt him. He's never been on a run to Atlanta with us though, he always stays behind to keep the home fires burning, he has no idea how we can sneak through a city infested with those things. It must seem like a miracle that such a thing can be done.

He has a point, it is dangerous. The most dangerous thing we've ever dared to attempt thus far but that shouldn't keep us from doing it. We have no choice now, we are desperate. I know others will understand the danger of what we are proposing to do; but that doesn't mean that they think we shouldn't do it. I don't think Dale means that we shouldn't go because of what could happen but rather his point was that we should be aware of the danger and prepare accordingly.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

After Dale's stumble no one steps up to speak right away. We all stand there looking at each other, thinking about what Shane and Dale said. Many are shocked that Dale would say such a thing but he's right, we need to be aware of the dangers and we need to be sure that we think its worth it. No one else will stand up and speak so I will.

When I suddenly stand up and walk to the circle of stones I can feel the eyes of the entire group on me. I am nervous standing before them but my years as a lawyer have prepared me to handle this feeling. I think about Merle chained up and helpless on that roof, I need to do this or he **will** die.

That determination calms my nerves and my resolve holds as I turn. I look at all of them before I speak. I see fear and uncertainty in a lot of faces, but a few hold a grim determination much like my own and that gives me the courage to say what I need to say.

"Dale's right, its dangerous, more dangerous than anything we've done since the world changed. That doesn't mean we shouldn't go. We have no choice, no matter the danger we need Merle and those guns. We need to be careful, its always been important but now its more crucial than ever. We can't afford to fail. We can't just let Merle die, he's one of us. Every person we save is one less walker trying to kill us. If we don't go he dies and that's on us, we have to at least try to save him. That's what **people** do."

I practically run back to my seat. If its possible they're more surprised by what I said than by Dale. Unlike after Dale's speech where people were pensive and silent, mine starts whispers and hushed conversations throughout the group. After a while it calmed down but not soon enough for me, I feel like I've painted a target on the back of my head. Shane stands up and asks if anyone else wants to speak.

Jacqui stands up but does not move to the fire pit, she stands in front of the log she got up from. "Why should we save him? He's a criminal, he wouldn't do it for us. Why should we risk our lives for a man who doesn't give a shit about us? Because we're good people? Because we're better than that? We can't think like that anymore, it'll get us killed. He doesn't help us, all he does is hurt us. Just because letting a man die is wrong doesn't meant it ain't the right thing to do." She sat down next to Lori who she was sharing a log with. Lori was nodding with a blank expression on her face. She wasn't comfortable with leaving somebody to die but didn't think Merle was worth the effort or risk. I knew neither of them liked Merle and he made an ass of himself, getting under their skin every chance he got but that was cold. I couldn't do that do someone I hated, even with the world like this.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

As afraid of Atlanta as people were, after Jacqui's little speech most people were so disgusted by the idea of leaving a man behind, even a man like Merle that I knew what way the vote was going to go. I let myself relax for the first time since the shit hit the fan in Atlanta almost two days ago. When the time to vote came the overwhelming majority voted to go for all three. Even Jacqui, looking remorseful voted to save Merle's bacon.

I was the one who'd driven the van with the supplies in it the first time so I volunteered to be one of the two to go retrieve it. Shane however had other ideas. He wanted me to go to Atlanta with him and Daryl. Lori stood up and volunteered to drive the van, Anita Morales volunteered to go with her. After that was settled, T-Dog and Glenn signed up to go with us back into the city.

I needed to get my things together so I just left, there was no need for me to be there anymore anyway. I saw most people leaving when I did. A decision had been reached so the meeting was over. Glenn stayed behind with Shane, Lori and Daryl going over the route we planned to take and where everything was. The three of them had never been on a run to Atlanta so there was some safety stuff he had to cover as well.

I got some extra ammo on my way to the RV to pack my bag. I had a feeling I'd need it. I also checked my knife to make sure it was extra sharp. I needed to be light on my feet so I grabbed a small backpack. Normally I wouldn't have done this but I had no idea how long this would take, it seemed simple enough but things were never as simple as they appeared.

I grabbed some food and medical supplies, stuff like bandages. I felt a little guilty taking it but if all goes well we'll have plenty of both to go around for awhile. Besides who knows what condition Merle'll be in when we find him. Anything could happen and it made me feel better to have some supplies with me.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

It didn't take long for the others to get ready and soon we were all in the SUV heading toward Atlanta. This scene was kinda familiar but this time there was no Merle trying to get me to laugh. This time I wasn't the only grim one.

Lori looked like she was regretting coming but she wasn't going with us all the way. I just hoped she kept her f-ing mouth shut, I didn't need to hear her shit right now. Daryl was silent and he didn't move or twitch, he looked like a freakin' statue. T and Glenn were quiet too but they didn't unsettle me nearly as much as Daryl did. Shane tried to engage us in conversation but most of us didn't respond and when we did our answers were short. Eventually he just gave up to our relief. No one was in the mood to talk and there was nothing wrong with that.

I spaced out, when the car slowed down I jerked out of my stupor just in time to see Lori and Anita fly out of the car. We stopped a block away from the truck but we passed by it and there was nothing near it. We waited in the car for five tense minutes in case the sound of our engine brought walkers to the area and our people got swarmed before they were ready.

Five minutes and not a second more and we were on our way again, we wanted our vehicle a little further in the city. The building Merle was on wasn't that tall but I could see it from where we left the SUV. We went to get Merle first, the guns could keep a little better under the hot Georgia sun and unless they grew legs they weren't going anywhere.

**Daryl**

By the time these idiots got around to voting I was really pissed. Not because a what they were sayin', everything they said there was a point to. What pissed me off was how god damn long this stupid shit was takin'. Even though the group voted to get Merle that didn't calm me down. The meetin' dispersed quickly after that.

I stayed behind with Glenn and Shane to get a feel fur the plan and the layout of the city. We were finally getting somewhere. I had just been huntin so my shit was already packed. By the time the others got to the SUV we were takin I was under the hood makin sure she were good ta go out of pure boredom and the need to be fuckin doin somtin or I was gonna fuckin scream.

When everyone was there I shut the hood and piled into the car with the rest a dem. We sent the girls who were getting the van back ta the quarry off first. By the time we were halfway there I was ready ta jump out my fuckin skin. What the fuck was takin so long?!

My brudder was in deep shit. This situation needed to get unfucked asap. The longer it takes us ta get ta him the worse off he's gonna be. Don't they get that? While we're takin forever to scratch our balls, he could be fuckin' dyin'. He was fuckin high. By now he's gonna be comin offa it and that's never pretty.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

I wasn't exactly lookin forward ta this brotherly reunion. I'ma gonna smack him good the next time I see that bastard. After we parked our ride we walked the rest a the way to the building where Merle was tied up. It took longer but it was better than bringin' the whole fuckin' city down on us. The SUV was actually pretty quiet but you could never be too careful in a place like this. That's what fucked us last time.

When we got to the building there were still walkers hangin' around doin whatever it was that zombies did when they weren't eatin' shit. Not wanting to draw more we used our knives. We stayed in close formation and soon all deaders in sight were truly dead. There were more inside and we could see them tryin' ta get at us but there was shit in their way.

We charged those poor fucks in a similar manner. There were actually more inside but they couldn't rush us because of the displays. It took longer to clear out the first floor but we didn't want any uninvited guests sneakin' up on us. We tried not to make lots a noise but occasionally one a the walkers would knock somtin over. Every time that happened we all jumped.

I was gettin' itchy again. Takin' out walkers had mellowed me out a bit, gave me somtin else ta think about but now that we were so close I was gettin' worried 'bout what we might find. I was on point as he made our way up the stairs that led to the roof. No time fur thinkin now, now was time ta kill shit.

We spread out a bit on the stairwell so we could maneuver. As point man I did most a the killin' but once in awhile one slipped past me and someone else got a turn. The building had five floors, not counting the roof. We(I) killed ten walkers on our way up. Taking them out quietly didn't take long, but after they were dead we had to move them off to the side so our group could get up the steps.

Finally I found myself at the door to the roof and I let T through so he could cut the chain. He and I held the door closed just in case. When everyone was ready we burst onto the roof knives at the ready. Didn't see or hear anythin' but there could still be somtin up here so I did a full sweep of the roof.

I wasn't lookin' at the ground but if I had been I woulda noticed I walked right passed where Merle had been cuffed. When I was satisfied that we were alone I returned to where the group was clustered. They were lookin' very confused, scratchin' their heads and shit.

When they noticed me, they parted and I could finally see what got them so stumped. They were lookin' at a bit of incredibly unremarkable pipe. Apparently this was where they left him. The only thing left was the cuffs. Both sides were open, he had found somtin ta pick 'em with. I told them what happened. They weren't that surprised that my brudder could pick a lock.

Somewhere on this roof there was a mark tellin' me where Merle went. I was gonna find it and go after him. Heading off alone I scoured the roof, this time looking at the ground. My mouth twisted into a smirk when I spotted him trail. Shane came up behind me.

"I'm goin' after him. Go get the guns." He nodded and I was off like a rocket heading East after my brudder.

**Gave you some Dixon, not as much as I would have liked but that's how the cookie crumbles. Daryl was focused on finding his brother so no feels this time around, soon though. So I warned you that I was going to change things. Honestly with a whole toolbox full of tools I find it very hard to believe that a seasoned criminal like Merle Dixon couldn't find something to pick a lock with. He's intact and fine somewhere in Atlanta.**

**Daryl is going off on his own to track Merle. The others go for the guns and we all know what happens when they do. Shit is goin down, brace yourselves.**


	5. Bad Luck and Trouble

**Epic chapter alert! I went at this and went at this and it still took me 5 days to finish it. Going to leave everything else til the end so we can get to the action.**

**Chapter 5 Bad Luck And Trouble**

**Glenn**

After Daryl went off on his own to track his brother. We left the roof the way we had before, this time heading for the tank a few blocks away. The plan was to travel by rooftop as close as possible to our target. That way we could avoid getting the attention of walkers on ground level. That was the idea anyway, it didn't quite work out that way.

When we were halfway there we ran out of roofs to jump. Unless we wanted to go out of our way and backtrack we had to drop to ground level. That would take way too much time, it was better to just approach using the streets. After a quick discussion Shane and T deferred to my expertise. They were as antsy being in the city as I was, those guns got dropped in a shitty place for us to retrieve them, the sooner we got them and got out of here the better.

Decision made, we looked around for a way to get down off the roof without going through the building. There was a fire escape on the back of the building. I was the smallest so I went down first and covered them while T, Andrea and Shane climbed down. We went one at a time, made less noise that way and the last thing we wanted right now was to draw attention to ourselves.

When we go to the tank Shane and T went for the guns while Andrea and I checked the area. It seemed that there were few if any walkers in the intersection now but it was better to check than have a whole horde of them sneak up on you. I was checking the condition of an alley when I felt a gun pressed against the back of my head.

I tried to shout out a warning but the guy who had the gun to my head wrapped his other hand around pressing a rag against my mouth. I felt a pain in my temple and then I passed out.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

When I came too I found myself tied up in a white room. It looked like a hospital room except for the fact that everything had been cleared out. It seemed that whoever these guys were they were prepared for...guests. There was nothing but me and the chair I was tied to, pretty tightly at that.

It wasn't a plastic chair or a half plastic/half metal chair, it was a wooden chair and it felt quite solid. There was no way I was going to be able to bend or break the chair and get myself free that way. It seemed that, at least for the moment, I was stuck where I was.

Now that I was more awake my head was really starting to hurt where that guy clipped me with his gun. I didn't think I had a concussion so I didn't have time for my head right now, I had to focus on getting out of here. Looking around the room again, this time craning my head so I could see what was behind me; I saw something I didn't see the first time I looked around, a window.

There was sunlight streaming through it so I hadn't been out long or a full day had passed. I was hoping it hadn't been very long since I was taken. I didn't have much hope of Shane, Andrea and T finding me randomly. As far as I could tell I was still in Atlanta and these guys had a lot of options for hiding spots. Odds were that I'd be dying very soon and I'd never see them again so it was up to me to get myself out of this mess.

That window seemed like the best bet. If I went out the door I'd probably run right into the guys who kidnapped me. If nothing else I could get more information about where I was if I could move the chair I was in enough that I could see out the window. I had to do it very quietly if I was going to try that though, letting my captors know I was up to something wasn't a good idea.

Deciding to pick up the chair to avoid the sounds it would make if I dragged it across the floor. Picking up the chair I began to slowly shuffle towards the other end of the room. I didn't get far when I heard an argument break out in front of my room. They were speaking, well yelling, in Spanish. I didn't know much Spanish but it sounded like someone wasn't a fan of what they'd done to me and how they were treating me.

I could use this to move faster, the argument outside should cover some noise if I wasn't too loud but if they came in I was fucked so instead I shuffled back to where the chair had been originally and put the chair down. I wasn't willing to risk getting caught trying to escape. Who knows what they'd do to me and I wasn't overly eager to find out what they'd do to me if they found out I wasn't being a model prisoner. Hopefully they wouldn't notice that I took my chair around for a spin.

Meanwhile the shouting match outside escalated and soon the knob turned. It seems that my hunch was right, they were coming in. Well there goes my chance to escape, at least I might finally get a look at who'd ruined my day.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

The shouting outside continued and the door didn't open, instead the knob stopped turning as the person who'd been opening it let go. I heard more voices join the argument. It sounded like that had a fair sized group here and they were debating what to do with me. Suddenly it got very quiet out there as someone who was in charge called for order. I actually understood what he said to the troops pretty well because he said it loud and slow.

"We need those guns. His people have them. We trade him for the guns. Nobody's talking about hurting this guy. We can get what we want without violence. We have eyes on his people, they're looking for him. The guy following them is gonna tell them where we are so we can make a deal. No matter what we're getting those guns back, its up to them whether this comes down to a fight. However if they don't wanna play nice then we'll annihilate them."

After he was done, the group scattered to whatever tasks they should have been doing. A minute later the door opened and a Mexican who looked to be in his twenties walked through. "I'm Guillermo. If you didn't understand what I said in the hallway, here it is in English. We have no intention of hurting you. We want the guns. Your people give them to us then we let you go, simple as that. I want you to understand something, those guns are ours and I'm not happy that you fucks stole them out from under our feet but I'm more than willing to resolve this peacefully if your boys give me what's mine. You're gonna stay here with us until that happens. My abuella doesn't approve of us tying you up. She's volunteered to look after you so you can walk around. Behave or my boy is gonna shoot you. Understand esse?"

An old lady walked in, obviously his grandma. He cut the ropes I was tied with and the old lady led me away, fussing over me. She apologized many times for the way I'd been treated, saying she didn't know what had gotten into them. She took me to get my head looked at. After I was pronounced fine she took me to get something to eat and drink. It had been hours since I'd had either and after I'd been knocked out I really appreciated the gesture.

She told me many times that I didn't have anything to worry about, that nothing wasn't going to happen to me but I wasn't so sure I'd seen people do some horrible things since the world changed. These guys may not be fans of violence but they weren't strangers to it and I had the feeling that they'd do whatever they had to to survive.

**Daryl**

Just leavin' Shane, Glenn, T and Andrea didn't sit right with me but I had to find my brother and I tracked better alone. Sure they could probably use my help if something happened but I couldn't think like that. I was far in another direction and it was better to keep going, find Merle and meet up later.

I prolly shoulda just stayed wit 'em and helped 'em get the guns, they were more important than my dumbass brother but as soon as I saw those cuffs I had to find him. I wasn't far from him now. Soon I'd find my brother and I'd be able to go after the others. That'd have to do. I couldn't think about what could happen to them if I wasn't there, I had to focus on the task at hand, nutin I could do for 'em right now if they're in trouble. I needed to get this done first and then go after 'em.

Pushing those thoughts away I focused on tracking my brother. I knew from what Andrea said about how he acted that day that he was high on something. Something he would now be coming down off of. He seemed to be slowing down. He had weapons but he hadn't been anywhere he could get some water or food and nowhere near safe enough to rest a piece.

My brother knew how to survive. By now he's gonna be in a bad way as the drugs make their way outta his system. His priority should be a safe place to crash, that was always number 1. In his condition water ad food wouldn't do him any good til he was through the worst of it but who knows where his head's at. He may not be thinking that far ahead, he may not be thinking much at all, just trying to get away from those things. It depends on what he was on and how much he took.

I ran into some trouble, his tracks kept going round and round to the same spot. This time there was no sign of him leaving but I had already looked through the whole area several times and found no other signs of my brother than his confusing trail. There was also no sign of him leaving, he had to be here somewhere.

I looked again but it was useless, he wasn't here. As a last resort I tried to use high Merle logic. I wasn't very good at putting my feet in my brother's boots when he's high but with no trail to follow it seemed like my best option. Instinct wouldn't help me find his trail but if could figure out what he was thinking when he came here I might be able to pick up his trail again.

My problem was that I was noticing too many details, in his state Merle wouldn't be able ta see straight. Still this place looked familiar like I'd been here a long time ago, it had changed a lot but there was a ghost of a memory tingling in the back of my mind, the ghost of something familiar...

Then I saw an old sign, the place had gone out of business a long time ago but no one had bought it. Even after all these years it was still there. I remembered now. We had an aunt who used to live around here. Merle and I visited a few times when I was little but we lost contact after our mom died. The business was her's, momma and her had the worst taste in men. She'd been forced to close it when her good for nothing husband took the money and ran.

They'd been partners in the business together. He didn't just take everything and more from the business account, he also took all of her savings and her 401K. He exceeded all of their credit as well. Don't know what ended up happening ta her but it wasn't good, woman had the worst luck imaginable. I only knew what happened to her because my dad told me the story of how she got fucked good and proper by her husband.

He always told me to never trust anyone, they took what they wanted from you and then they left. Sometimes they left a good proper mess for you to fix, if they just left ya then you should consider yourself lucky. I learned early not to depend on anyone but myself, even if they didn't want to eventually everyone else left so I never gave them a chance to. I kept to myself and never let anyone else in. Trustin' people only brought ya pain and I'd had more than my fair share.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

Merle and I used to sneak all around here when we were tykes. He'd remember better than I would. He was probably using one a the hideaways to avoid the walkers. He was obviously lookin' fur somethin' round here, them passages might not be it though. More likely he was usin' 'em ta hide while he found a secure place ta bunk down fur da night which was coming slowly but surely.

Trying to run around the city at night when it was crawling with those things is suicide but I had a few hours yet to find Merle and meet back up with the others. I was getting closer though, he'd done his little runaround routine recently but it looked like he didn't find anything so he moved on. The question was where? As far as I could tell his trail ended here on this street.

I went over the area again for what felt like the fiftieth time. I focused on the ground looking for any signs of activity that I hadn't found yet but there was still nothing more to find. Ok so he didn't leave on the street level so he musta gotten up somehow. I scanned the sides of the buildings instead, searching for a way to get to the rooftops. Seeing a fire escape on the side of one of the buildings I headed over there.

This fire escape wouldn't be easy to get to from the ground because the ladder stopped around the third floor but that wouldn't stop Merle. I looked for a way to get to that fire escape. Merle and I were tall and strong, we could reach farther and jump higher than most of we really put our minds to it not that either of us was naturally flexible but it got the job done.

That was the only way up I saw from here, it didn't matter if that's how he got up there; that's where he went so that's where I needed to go. Scaling buildings wasn't my favorite sport but if I was gonna get to that ladder. I saw a dumpster that I could get on and use it to get some air but that would only get me so far. About halfway if I'm right about how high I can jump.

If I slipped this could really hurt but I couldn't think like that. If there was any doubt in me that I couldn't make it, then I wouldn't. Besides that's not how I roll, I do what I need ta do and I never look back or question what I'm about ta do, I just do it.

It took me more than a minute but soon I was hanging onto the end of the ladder. Amazingly I was alive and pulling myself up with no trouble. After I had hands on the ladder, getting to the roof of the building was no problem. Once I was up there the first thing I did was scout out the roof I was on.

Most of the buildings in this section were close together and of similar height. Running around this area would be cake. Now that I was up her I had access to buildings as far as two blocks away in several directions. If Merle got his ass up here he could be anywhere by now. It would be much easier for him to move around up here. At least he had a better chance of finding a building that was secure ta hole up in.

After I was done with the building I was on I hopped onto another one. This one had a clue, a hunters mark that told me where Merle went from here. I knew he'd left them for me, a trail of bread crumbs that only I'd be able to see and figure out. He trusted me to make it this far at least. No one else would have been able to figure out what the marks meant if they found them by accident and few people could have made it to the rooftop highway like I had.

I followed the trail for three more signs before I found one that signaled that he was in the building below. Moving quickly I went through the rooftop access to the stairwell. Merle was never one to make it easy on me so unless he switched buildings I wouldn't find another mark. It was up ta me ta hoof him down, so I checked every floor.

I knew he wouldn't go too far down. So far I'd found signs of him on every floor I'd been on but it wasn't til the third floor from the roof that I really found something. It seemed that this is where he made his nest but I didn't see him. I knew why he chose this floor, most of it was an open studio type layout which gave him a full view of anything coming his way and tons of possible means of escape.

However not all of the floor was open, there were a few satellite rooms that were walled off from the main area. If he was here he clearly was in one of those rooms, so I started going through those one by one. I few once I knew what they were I omitted them because I didn't think Merle would have any interest in them. Of my remaining choices there was a bathroom which I decided was my best bet.

As I moved closer I noticed the smell. Judging from the noxious fumes coming from inside it was better than a hunch that he was inside taking a gigantic dump. I have unfortunately been witness to that before and I have one thing to say 'never again' but I needed to make sure I'd actually found him. I could deal with the smell for the three seconds it would take to peek inside and confirm that I'd found my brother.

Covering my nose I ran the last few feet to the door and opened it was fast as I could. I was instantly hit by a more intense wave of smell that had me coughing and my eyes tearing up. I couldn't see too well right now but the figure I could just barely make out on the toilet could see me just fine. I might not be able to distinguish the features but I'd know the voice that bellowed out anywhere.

"Well hey lil brother! Nice ta see that ya finally tracked me down. Took ya long enough. Sorry 'bout the smell but you ought ta know by now that I always need ta take a big dump when I'm coming down from the shit."

Growling I closed the door and moved to the main area to wait for my brother at a safe distance. After he was done in there I needed to get his ass movin'. We needed ta get outta here, the sooner the better.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

Once my brother came outta the bathroom he found me in his nest packing up his finds.

"We need ta get outta here. There's still plenty a time ta get ta the rendezvous and start back ta camp before dark."

"You tellin' me that ya got Officer Smiley to come wit ya ta save my ass? How the fuck does **that** happen?"

"It ain't jus him. That Asian kid, Andrea, and the black guy you punched are here too. They felt real bad 'bout leavin' ya up there ta die so they came wit me ta get ya. Ain't jus here for your sorry ass though, when we found the cuffs on the roof we split up, I tracked you and they went fur the guns that dumbass cop dropped while his fool ass was holed up in that tank."

"Alright, so what's next Ranger Rick?"

"Don't call me that asshole. The plan is to try and find the others, then head back to the quarry with our loot."

"Well what ya waitin' fur Darlina? Let's get this show on the road!"

"Alright, figure we head ta the tank and track dem from there."

Shit had gone down in the area around the tank that was fur sure. It looked like Glenn had been scouting out an alley when he'd been jumped. By the tracks he had been taken by people and he was still alive, there wasn't nearly enough blood to make us think he was dead or anywhere near it.

We went back to the tank, the bag wasn't there anymore, somebody had it. No telling who walked away with the prize though. It could be the guys who nabbed Glenn but it could also have been our people, as far as we could tell they were still alive. The only thing we could do was what Dixons did best, follow the trail and hopefully it'll lead us to some answers.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

Well the trail we followed sure lead us to an interesting place alright. Dodging walkers on the ground we followed the trail to the first sign of life we'd seen so far. It appears that we had walked into the middle of a standoff between our people and a Mexican gang holed up in an old folks home.

No one had noticed us yet so we slunk back into the shadows...

**Shane**

We used the skinny Mexican we caught trying to escape after his people went after the guns at the same time we did. His boys had Glenn so we asked him nicely to lead us to where his people were holed up so we could get our runner back.

We could have gotten to their base in less than an hour but we stopped to strategize. After tying up our pet gang member we huddled up to discuss how to approach this situation. The only thing we could agree on however is that none of us knew what to make of this situation.

After our little powwow got us nowhere we headed straight for the gang's casa or wherever this guy was taking us. We could be walking into an ambush for all we knew. We were armed and we weren't going to let our guard down for anything. If shit went down, we were going down fighting.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

Guillermo who was apparently the leader of the gang wasn't outside when we got there but as soon as we showed our faces someone went to get him. I looked around while I waited for him to show. They were holed up in an old folks home which struck me as an odd choice of residence. The building didn't look very defensible which is probably why they wanted the guns.

There were a few sentries guarding the front but when their leader emerged dozens more spilled out of the building surrounding him, all of them pointing loaded guns at us. It was tense for a moment while G laid down his terms. The Dixons chose that moment to reveal their position behind G and his crowd of angry Mexicans. Our odds were better with the Dixons but they were still shitty. If they called our bluff we were fucked.

Just then an old lady broke through the crowd and shamed G in Spanish. Apparently they were 'good' boys who never did stuff like this. She lead us to where Glenn was. After being told by the old lady G and the other guys mellowed out a lot. Glenn was under guard but unharmed and unrestrained.

G lead us through the building. It was full of old people with maybe thirty young men to care for and defend them.

"When the shit hit the fan everyone just left them here. Only two of us stayed, me the janitor and one of the nurses. We aren't just in danger from the dead, we aren't the only people who've taken refuge here. We need those guns ta protect what we got, and to go grocery shopping."

"We got people too. I'll give you half. There's one thing though. We need medicine, the heavy duty stuff. Got people who need it and we don't have anything besides what you'd find at a pharmacy. That's the deal, take it or leave it."

He took it and G and I went to work splitting up the guns and ammo. Daryl disappeared. When he came back he had a tote bag in his hands. One of G's guys handed us a bag of platinum grade antibiotics and painkillers. We shook hands and said our goodbyes. Making it to our vehicle we headed back toward camp as the sun was setting. Not bad for a day's work.

**This one is for Haitus80 and HGRHfan35 who begged me for another chapter on the double. I'm as excited about this part of the story as you are. I had fun writing this and hopefully you had fun reading it. Love to everyone who's reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting. You guys are the wind beneath my wings!**


	6. The Herd

**I'm not gonna chat much right now, I'll save it for the end. Obviously its a big chapter so you'll want to get to it. I just want to thank all of you for reading and giving this story a chance.**

**Chapter 6 The Herd**

**Daryl**

When we got back to the quarry it was after dark. Right away Merle and I knew something was wrong, the difference was that **I** cared. The others were wary but it wasn't til we got up the main drive and were really close that they found out something was wrong. We were close enough to hear the screaming, the moaning and the gunshots as our people tried to fight off the swarm of the undead that has invaded our camp.

I knew it would happen eventually but I also knew that no one would listen to me. They'd done some things to warn them if walkers were closing in but they'd chosen a damn hard spot to fortify. Their plan was to lay low til this all blew over. They'd only seen a few at a time before except for in the city, they hoped their noise makers would give them enough warning but that only worked if a few of them showed up.

This was dozens. We had enough people in theory to handle that number but these weren't trained soldiers. Few people here knew how to use a gun and were able to take out an enemy. Even if we had enough guns for everybody which we now had, most of us wouldn't be effective enough with a firearm to make it worth it. This was going to be a blood bath and **we** were what was going to decide just how many of our people were going to die.

That's a lot of pressure for a guy like me. I wasn't the hero, guys like Rick and Shane, T and even Glenn could be heroes but not me. I was a Dixon and no Dixon had ever amounted to that much. Merle spoke up, "As much as ya goodie two shoes 'll hate it we gotta stop, get organized, work up a plan. Everyone but Glenn get strapped but don't be greedy. Glenn you take the rest and run around handin' 'em out. The rest of us go out guns blazing. We need to get this situation under control gentlemen. Lets get 'er done!"

It drove Shane crazy but big brother was right, if we went in there without being prepared, without a plan more people would die. No one liked it but we all numbly went about getting guns and ammo and preparing to jump out the van and do some damage. No one else had a better idea and as far as an attack plan, it was damn good. We didn't have the time to come up with anything else, to do anything else.

Merle and me were ready in seconds, we were still rolling by the time I sat back to steel myself against what we would face when we got to the camp. The vehicle was quiet but we still stopped short hoping to surprise the attackers by coming up behind them and then striking. Usually I stuck with my bow but not tonight. Noise didn't matter anymore and I couldn't spare the time to reload after each shot.

I knew what I would see and I didn't want to think about people being eaten alive or bitten. I didn't know which was worse. Being ripped to pieces was bad enough but I hated being sick, dying like that was a whole other realm of sick but it had to be horrible. I was pulled from my gloomy thoughts by Merle telling me it was time to make our move. Time to work.

I didn't know about the others but I was going straight for the RV. Carol was there and I had to protect her. Sophia should be there too, all the kids were told to head for the RV if something happens, hopefully she won't be the only one there looking for shelter...

It was chaos, people running and screaming everywhere. People were picking up anything they could to defend themselves but few actually had managed to pick up something that would do any good, let alone a gun. I brought my gun up, taking out walkers left and right. I didn't fire unless I knew it would hit its mark but I still dropped dozens going through bullets like water trying to get to the RV.

I wasn't the only one with the idea to defend the bus, most of the people who had guns at the camp were rallied there picking the undead off. Dale and a few others were on the roof with rifles. Quite a few people were running around trying to get away from the walking corpses that were pursuing them. There were fewer now, only about a dozen were left and they were slow.

I kept firing trying to cover the people running about. I saved more than a few from being dead chow but there was no time to think about that now. I didn't even notice when two of the rifles stopped firing but it didn't matter. The rest of the walkers were dead in minutes. After the last one dropped I went around with my knife dead checking them. Last thing we needed was one of them jumping up and taking a bite outta one o' us when we walked by.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

I wasn't ready to hear about Carol or Sophia yet either. I hadn't seen them yet and naturally I feared the worst and I could bear that, if I was too late to save them I could never live with that. The others were gathering to decide what to do with our dead and injured. The other two shooters on the RV had gotten injured getting there and were just this side of death. Others were scratched or injured by other means or so they claimed.

Roger and Fanny needed to be put outta their misery, they'd be dead in no time and after that they'd turn. Callie's sister was dead and she wasn't letting any of us near her. I didn't blame her but it needed to be done. Another two were bitten for sure and everyone was arguing about whether it was wrong to just kill 'em. The others no one knew what to do with but everyone knew that Roger, Fanny, Georgia and Mike were goners. It was just a matter of time for them.

The discussion turned to those who were dead, dead. We decided to bury our people and burn the rest. I got to work moving bodies. I had seen Carol and Sophia and they were fine to my great relief but there was work to be done so I haven't spoken to the yet. I hadn't lost anything today but others had and it didn't feel right to me that I could hold Sophia while many others were crying over the bodies of their loved ones.

Everyone was worried about our dead rising so before we buried them we bashed their heads in. Callie was none too fond a this and she still had not let us near her sister. I looked to Carol to see if she would got to her and try to talk to her. I couldn't hear what they said but soon she got up and let us bury Mina. She had a fit when I started putting my knife through her, but Carol was able to hold her back and calm her down.

After all our dead had all been taken care of so I went to the ones who had killed our people. Me and a few other men started dragging them into piles. We ended up making two big piles and a small one for the leftovers. When we started we agreed that the piles would have a dozen in them. Two dozen wasn't that bad but we should have been able to hold a force of walkers that size back with few if any casualties.

That said something about the spot we chose and the strength of our group. I wasn't the only one thinking it either. Shane pulled me aside. "We can't stay here its not safe., I want to get people together to decide what to do next. I think we should head for the army base. It has fences, artillery. If any place survived intact it would be a heavily armored base full of soldiers. We can't keep living like this, we need more information about what we're dealing with, we need to get organized."

"Ugh, keep me outta that! I ain't goin' ta that fuckin' meetin'. I'm stayin' with my girls. Be lining for a defensible structure makes sense but think about this for a moment. If the soldiers in Atlanta got wasted what are the odds that a base is standing? Every place where there's people those things have overrun. Who says Fort Benning will be any different? These things may not be very organized but they gather in numbers and they could take out a fence like the ones that surround that base, they **have** taken out fences like that or gotten around them. I know you're looking for hope but what if there isn't any to find?"

"There has to be something more than this. That herd came from Atlanta, that's why the streets were empty. There's no food there so they moved on. We stay here and they'll find us again and again until we're all dead. We need to find a place that's defensible."

"You think that fort'll keep my girls safe? If you think we got a chance there than I'm with you. Its hell a lot better than runnin' around in the open." I had seen Atlanta, I knew that base had been lost but maybe there was something there we could use, maybe even answers but I doubted it. The most that place could probably give us is shelter, a place we can secure.

***You're My Cherokee Rose***

After our chat, Shane stalked off and I went to find my girls. I found them in the RV. Sophia was on the floor coloring, Carol was sitting at the table. Her face was away from me so it took me a minute to realize she was crying. I didn't know what had upset her but I had the strange urge to comfort her.

Instead I coughed to announce my presence. Sophia was always quite, now she was somber, afraid and I hated it. When she saw it was me she smiled but it wasn't the bright, vibrant smile of a few days ago, it was tainted by fear and uncertainty. I knelt down with her.

"Its ok 'Phia, ain't nutin' gonna happen ta ya. I'll take care a ya."

I reached out for her. This time when she looked at me there were tears in her eyes and she curled herself in a ball. It occurred to me then about Ed. He'd always told them they were worthless but he was the one who took care of them such as it was and he was dead now and here I was sayin' I'd take care a her. She was afraid a bein' under the power a another man.

Pouting I said, "Sophia, I ain't gonna hurt ya. Yur daddy was a bad man but I ain't like that. When I say I'm gonna take care a ya I mean I'm gonna do it the way it should be done kiddo." Finally she uncurled herself and started to move toward me so I opened my arms and told her to come here.

Carol wasn't going to be so easy. After telling Sophia to find Carl so I could talk ta her momma, I sat down on the bench across from her.

"Whats you thinkin?"

Her face fell and I could finally see that she wasn't sad, she had moved beyond that. On her face was a look of despair that broke my heart. "What are we gonna do?"

"Ed's dead, that's a good thing. Ya do what ya been doing, helpin' the group. Only now ya don't have that bastard holdin' ya back."

"But now that he's gone what if they kick us out?"

"They didn't let ya be a part o the group cuz a him I ken tell ya that much. He didn't do shit round here, well ok he did _shit_ but that's 'bout it. If nutin' else **I** got ya, I'll take care a you two. If they kick ya to the curb, which they won't, but if they do me an my brudder'll go wit ya. Ain't the first time we got ya."

"What do you mean?"

"**We** killed Ed. Ain't no walker shit either, just **real** men doin' what needs ta be done. I knew he was beatin ya an I wouldn't stand fur it so I told Merle. When he was layin' in ta ya that night we were in the bushes. As soon as he heard enough ta be convinced that he was hurtin' ya we burst in and dragged his ass down ta the lake. We hit him some. Then he told me about cuttin' ya so I went off ta see ta ya while Merle took care o business."

"Oh my God. I guess I should thank you even if you did kill my husband."

"Don't call him that, he ain't worth that and I ain't done nutin' any man worth his salt wouldn't a dun."

"Still, none of the other men would do anything about it and they all knew, you were the only one who cared enough to do something about it and you're not done, you're gonna keep an eye on us, make sure we're ok. Ain't seen no man here willin ta do that. We ain't your problem, there ain't nutin tyin' you ta us same as everyone else here but that don't matter to you. You have a code of honor that demands you act and it saved my life and the life of my little girl. If it had been left to the others I would have been dead because they wouldn't get between a man and his wife."

Turning red and rubbing my neck I looked for a way to escape. I had expected a thank you, maybe, at most; but this was too much. She was makin' me out ta be some kind a hero when all I did was what needed ta be dun. I knew scampering off wasn't good form but I couldn't take being there with her any more. It was all just too much, I wasn't worth half of what she was sayin' and just because she didn't know it doesn't mean I could ever live up ta it.

**Shane**

The meeting was over, most of the people in the camp readily agreed to any sort of plan as long as it wasn't here. It was what the people who hadn't agreed said that chilled me. Morales called it a suicide mission. He said it was going to be as dead as Atlanta and his words echoed through my mind. What if he was right? What if there is no civilization anymore? What if all that's left was the hollowed bones of the old world and people like us, few and far between struggling to survive in this world of the dead?

If I was wrong I could be leading all of us to our deaths but I couldn't think about the possibility, probability of failure. We couldn't stay here anymore, it was too dangerous to be this close to the big city with the dead moving out of Atlanta looking for food. It was hard thinking about what could happen because of me so I focused on getting us prepared to move out.

Time would tell what we would find in Fort Benning. I helped us get our supplies organized and packed away. It was hard sending Morales and his family as well as the others who had decided to try their luck elsewhere. The world was small again, odds were even if we all lived that we'd never cross paths again. I'd never know what happened to them and vice versa but nothing in this world was certain, for all I know they would find a place and live out the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately they were no longer my problem, I still had nearly thirty people to pack up and move to a place that may not even exist anymore.

**Carol**

It took us two days but we were finally ready to hit the road. Naturally they wouldn't let me do anything, it drove me crazy but I knew I wasn't ready to be up and about yet. Secretly I was grateful that Daryl hung close, he hadn't spoken to me since I scared him off but he was always close b to make sure I didn't go too far or do too much.

Later in the day when he returned Sophia to me, he brought me a bag of knitting supplies. God knows where he got them but I was grateful for something to be able to do. I was in a lot of pain and I could tell my wounds weren't healing well, I also slept a lot but in those moments where I was horribly, unmistakably awake at least I had something to take my mind off the pain, off everything really.

When we finally got going on the third day after the herd hit us I stayed in the RV in bed so it wasn't any different from any other day except for the fact that we were moving. It didn't make me any worse and it suited me just fine. At least now I wasn't the only one stuck in one place. I had Rick and Sophia for company and occasionally Dale, Andrea or her sister but usually two of them were in the front and the other up top keeping an eye out.

Our progress was slow, we didn't want to go too fast and then run into something an wreak so we were very careful as we drove along the highway. Daryl and Merle scouted ahead on their bikes. We used secondary roads until we were clear of Atlanta. At night I stayed in the RV with a few others but everyone else slept on the ground or in the cars. After a few days they stopped sleeping in the cars though.

Daryl and Merle made sure I ate good and they looked after Sophia for me because I couldn't keep up with her right now. They even took her hunting which made her really happy. They didn't let her do anything, she just watched them do what they did best and she still talked about it for days. After that there was nothing I could do to keep the three of them apart.

One morning I was feeling really good, Daryl had already come back from hunting but he went out right after to scout the perimeter. Cooking didn't seem like much so I thought I should do at least that, you know earn my keep, at least a little bit. The next thing I know I was seeing stars and then nothing as I passed out.

When I awoke I was struck by the strange sensation of not moving. It seemed that the others had decided to stop for a little while after I collapsed. They said it was because we were halfway to the base and wanted to get as many supplies as we could. We didn't know what we would find when we got to the army base and an opportunity presented itself but I knew the truth. Daryl had made them stop so I could recover.

* * *

**Ok so that was something interesting right? Lots of things happened this time around. The least of which was the walker attack, you expected that. In case you were wondering, the people who got bitten all died, like right away or while they were still getting ready to move out, I just didn't have the heart to write that. **

**I didn't kill Andrea's sister for a reason. I still wanted the sibling grief though because they need to redefine their morals and what's acceptable and I think that's one of the first things that stands out in the guide book of what to do in a zombie apocalypse.**

**I wanted them to go to Fort Benning first, just to be able to do something of my own. Also because I think they should have gone there. The army has guns, fuel, rations. Its candy land as far as supplies go but what did they get at the CDC? Its all part of my plan, don't worry I do have one.**

**We had our first Caryl moment. YAY. I struggled with that scene at first but the muse spoke and I was able to muddle through. I am very pleased with the final result. Carol is on the track to finding the mindset I want her to have and Daryl is just being adorable. He'll come around eventually.**

**We also have Carol's first appearance doing her point of view. Didn't get much of what's going on but I'll put that in next chapter. She's still in a bad way though and she has a long road to go until she's recovered. Daryl will be there just out of sight making sure she doesn't hurt herself, after her episode he'll be more assertive in his presence. **

**Daryl and Merle are taking care of Sophia! There will be something with that in the next chapter. Daryl and Sophia already have a relationship, now I'm adding Merle to that. I've read some fanfics with great Merle/Sophia and I'm ecstatic to be doing it in one of mine.**

**They will be arriving at Fort Benning next chapter and will stay there for a little bit, just warning you that next chapter is going to be a light cliffhanger.**

**I got a great response to the last chapter and it made me very happy. I love reading your reviews and comments. You people are awesome! **

**I know I talked a lot and that was horrible of me but I haven't talked to you in so long and there was so much good stuff in this chapter that I couldn't help myself.**


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